The impacts of Social Media are
multidimensional. In the modern world,
Social media has become an integral part of people’s lives. Apart from
networking people from around the globe, it has become the most important
source of breaking news. People no longer wait for the television to broadcast
or the newspaper the print the news. In the age of social media, people can
access news from all over the world
through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter etc, where news is spread all
over the world with just a single click, in moments. (Amin & Thrift, 1995)
One of the boons of Social media is the
increased level of interaction between people from various cultural and
geographical backgrounds. McLuhan and Powers (1989) stated that with the advent
of social networks, people are able to keep in touch with each other at their
convenience irrespective of their geographical barriers. In simpler terms
Social media has diminished the time and space constraints.
Apart from the social influences, Social
media has had its fair share of influence in the field of politics as well.
Ranging from the Iran elections, and Obama’s reelection for a second term as US
President, and political unrests in Egypt, social media has transformed several
political landscapes as well. (Grossman, 2009)
Further, social media has also rendered
its invaluable contribution towards education and promoting the importance of
literacy. Through the means of regular social networking, children often
develop better communication skills and are often perceived to be more aware of
their surroundings. With the growth of ICTs and the Internet, information is
now readily available on a wide range of topics, which arms the users with
facilities like never before.
Finally, Social media has also changed
the dynamics of marketing as more and more companies are now inclined to
communicating directly with their consumers than spend all their resources
trying to produce advertisements on TV. Direct communication with the customers
has helped them understand the needs of the people better making the marketing
policies much more acceptable and consumer-centered. (Gefeb & Straub, 2004)
References
- Amin, A., and Thrift, N., eds., 1995. Globalization, Institutions, and Regional Development in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Gefeb,D., and Straub, D. W., 2004. Consumer trust in B2C e-Commerce and the importance of social presence: experiments in e-Products and e-Services. Omega. 32 (6), pp. 407-424.
- Grossman,L., 2009. Iran's Protests: Why Twitter Is the Medium of the Movement. TIME. [PDF] [Online] Available at: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/AY2011/cs4001_summer/documents/Time-Iran-Twitter.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2013]
- McLuhan, M. and Powers, B. R., 1989. The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century.New York: Oxford University Press.